Wife Secretary

Wife Secretary

Movies in Theaters

Opening This Week

Coming Soon to Theaters

Certified Fresh Movies

Movies at Home

Vudu

Netflix Streaming

iTunes

Amazon and Amazon Prime

Most Popular Streaming Movies

Certified Fresh Movies

Browse All

More

Top Movies
Trailers

Only Murders in the Building: Season 2

Columns

24 Frames
All-Time Lists
Binge Guide
Comics on TV
Countdown
Critics Consensus
Five Favorite Films
Now Streaming
Parental Guidance
Red Carpet Roundup
Scorecards
Sub-Cult
Total Recall
Video Interviews
Weekend Box Office
Weekly Ketchup
What to Watch
The Zeros

Jurassic Park Movies Ranked By Tomatometer

Marvel Movies Ranked Worst to Best by Tomatometer

What We Do in the Shadows Season 4 Finale: Colin Robinson’s Life Cycle Explained

She-Hulk: Attorney at Law Case Files: Tim Roth on Returning as Emil Blonsky, Abomination’s Immigration Status, and Wong’s Shaky Alibi

Trending on RT

Don't Worry Darling

The Rings of Power

House of the Dragon

The Whale

× Close

Sign up for Rotten Tomatoes

By signing up, you agree to receiving newsletters from Rotten Tomatoes. You may later unsubscribe.

× Close

Forgot your password

We want to hear what you have to say but need to verify your email. Don’t worry, it won’t take long. Please click the link below to receive your verification email.

You might also like

See More

Want to submit changes to your review before closing?

Submit only my rating
Keep writing

Discard changes & exit
Submit only my rating
Keep writing

Though magazine publisher Van Stanhope (Clark Gable) and his wife, Linda (Myrna Loy), are contentedly married, Van's meddling mother (May Robson) doesn't trust his attractive young secretary, Helen "Whitey" Wilson (Jean Harlow). When Whitey helps Van undertake a top-secret plan to purchase a potentially profitable magazine from under the nose of a rival publisher, causing the pair to work long hours alone together, Linda's sudden jealousy almost scuttles both the deal and their marriage.

Comedy,

Drama

Hunt Stromberg ,

Clarence Brown

Norman Krasna ,

John Lee Mahin ,

Alice Duer Miller

Clark Gable

Van

Jean Harlow

Whitey

Myrna Loy

Linda

May Robson

Mimi

George Barbier

Underwood

James Stewart

Dave

Hobart Cavanaugh

Joe

Tom Dugan

Finney

Gilbert Emery

Simpson

Marjorie Gateson

Eve Merritt

Gloria Holden

Joan Carstairs

Clarence Brown

Director

Norman Krasna

Screenwriter

John Lee Mahin

Screenwriter

Alice Duer Miller

Screenwriter

Hunt Stromberg

Producer

Clarence Brown

Producer

Herbert Stothart

Original Music

Edward Ward

Original Music

Ray June

Cinematographer

Frank E. Hull

Film Editing

Cedric Gibbons

Art Director

All Critics (3)
|

Fresh (2)
|

Rotten (1)

This movie is loaded with star power - Jean Harlow, Clark Gable, Myrna Loy, and wow, even a young Jimmy Stewart. The story is straightforward - Gable is an executive, Loy is his wife, Harlow his secretary, and Stewart, Harlow's boyfriend. Harlow is incredibly helpful to Gable and works long hours with him, thus prompting rumors, but the two are absolutely innocent. Eventually Loy and Stewart get jealous of the time the two are spending together, and are concerned the two are having an affair.

I have to say, for a good part of the movie, it seemed reasonably good but somewhat false - the chemistry between Gable and Loy is just "ok", and the straight and narrow course Gable and Harlow take and the overall message of needing to trust in one's relationship seemed somehow influenced by the Hays Code to me.

On the positive side, both Gable and Harlow are in roles outside of their usual typecasting, including Harlow with her natural hair color. Harlow also stands up to Stewart's requests that she quit her job to focus on family (hooray especially for 1936!), and Harlow confronting Loy and ultimately sacrificing herself is a good scene. And, on top of all that, the very best scene is between Gable and Harlow, after they've been drinking in Havana following closing a deal they had worked on over sleepless nights. Innocence aside, there is a moment of truth when she's in the same hotel room in the wee hours, untying his shoes. Their conflicted stares are priceless and communicate brilliantly without words, until Harlow says at last "we've had an awful lot to drink". That scene alone makes the film worth watching, and shows Harlow's ability and potential to grow even further. How sad she would die the following year at the age of 26! As for this film -- the script is good, not great, but the screen presences here surely are.

Antonius B

Super Reviewer

A normal drama of a suspicious wife and her husband who may or may not be cheating. It's predictable and boring, but the acting is good.

Aj V

Super Reviewer

Megawatt cast stuck in a dimestore novel. They way they cranked 'em out in those days, they can't all be winners. Neat to see the stars in atypical roles - Clark Gable as affable millionaire, James Stewart as jealous boyfriend, and Jean Harlow the innocent secretary falsely suspected of being the maneater she usually portrays! Myrna Loy has the most thankless role as the suspicious wife. Stewart and Harlow have the best scene in his parked car as Jimmy flashes the brilliant timing and nuance he would become famous for. I actually felt sorry for Harlow at the end, even though it was supposed to be a feel-gooder. "Don't look for trouble where there isn't any because if you don't find it, you'll make it," the sage moral to this slight cinematic fable.

Doctor S

Super Reviewer

Predictable, but still enjoyable. With any other cast, it probably wouldn't be worth watching.

Valerie G

Super Reviewer

Help
About Rotten Tomatoes
What's the Tomatometer ® ?

Critic Submission
Licensing
Advertise With Us
Careers

Porno Lesbians Love
Russian Public Porn Tube
Nudist Ero

Wife Secretary

Report Page